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PokerStars Pennsylvania Announces First-Ever PACOOP

Following a successful launch in Pennsylvania, PokerStars is now looking to host its first-ever online tournament series in the state.

Pennsylvania’s first online poker room, PokerStars PA, is hosting its first online tournament series in state beginning at the end of this month.

Keeping in theme with its other big tournament series, the Pennsylvania version will be aptly named PACOOP, an acronym for the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker.

PACOOP is scheduled to run from November 30 – December 16 and will feature 50 events with buy-ins ranging from $30 to $750. There are also satellites running on site for as little as $1.

The marquee event of the series will be the $300 buy-in Main Event on December 15 which features a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool.

“The Championship of Online Poker, or COOP, is one of our most prestigious events and we’re proud to give Pennsylvania its own,” said Matt Primeaux, President, FOX Bet, PokerStars online sports betting arm. “Players in PA have already shown their excitement for PokerStars so we took things to the next level with a $1 million series guarantee and plenty of ways to get in on the action.”

PACOOP Promotions

In celebration of the new series, PokerStars PA is running special promotions and satellites that will help players take part in in PACOOP.

In addition to the satellites with buy-ins as low as $1, PokerStars is hosting a Main Event Depositor Freeroll that will award 25 Main Event seats.

How to Qualify: Make a deposit of $50 or more using the bonus code PACOOP before 1:59 PM ET on December 15.

When: The Main Event Depositor Freeroll takes place on December 15 at 2:00 PM ET.

Another way PokerStars is helping players take part in PACOOP is with Second Chance Freerolls that will award a total of $20,000 in satellite tickets and entries to PACOOP events.

How to Qualify: If you get knocked out of a PACOOP event without making the money, you will qualify for a PACOOP Second Chance Freeroll.

When: The PACOOP Second Chance Freerolls will run daily at 6:00 PM ET from December 1 to 16, except on Sundays when they will kick off at 3:00 PM ET.

Prizes: Each freeroll will award $1,250 in satellite tickets and entries to PACOOP events.

For a complete schedule of events, you can the schedule at the bottom of the page.

How Does PACOOP Compare to NJCOOP?

Surprisingly, PokerStars is taking a much more conservative approach to its first major online poker series in Pennsylvania compared to its first tournament series offering in New Jersey.

Pennsylvania is the sixth-most populous state in the country, thanks to a population of nearly 13 million. It has almost 4 million more people than New Jersey, and while that may not seem like a big difference, it is a 30% bigger potential player pool.

Yet, the first-ever series held in New Jersey by PokerStars, NJSCOOP 2016, had $1.1 million in guaranteed prize money spread over 54 tournaments, besting both the total guarantee and number of events announced for the inaugural PACOOP.

Also, NJCOOP 2016 was held in May—traditionally a quieter period for online poker than the upcoming holiday season during which PACOOP will run.

Lastly, given the the excitement of the first-ever online tournament series in PA and the state’s close proximity to highly populated areas in nearby states, we expect PACOOP could attract players from other US states to travel to play the highly-anticipated tournaments.

PokerStars held its biggest series in the US regulated market in April 2018 when NJSCOOP had total guarantees of $1.3 million. However, the series guarantees have come down over the past twelve months, with the recently concluded NJCOOP in October seeing its total guarantee drop to $1 million.

How Frequently PokerStars Is Expected to Run An Online Tournament Series In PA?

PokerStars schedules about half a dozen online tournament series in a majority of its markets. In New Jersey, the following online tournament series are usually run:

Winter Series in January

Turbo Series in February

NJSCOOP in May

Summer Series in July/August

NJCOOP in October

In the dot-com market, PokerStars hosts six to seven series in a year, with one running every other month. And in the European segregated market, the operator hosts seven to eight series in a year.

Similarly, we expect PokerStars to run at least five to six online tournament series a year in Pennsylvania, with one running every two or three months.

Could PokerStars Break the Record of WSOP/888 Network For Largest Online Tournament Series in the US Regulated Market?

The WSOP/888 network operating under the All American Poker Network (AAPN) currently holds the record for hosting the largest online tournament series in the US.

PokerStars, known for providing world-class tournaments will be hoping to break that record. But for it to reach its full potential, the operator hopes to join its Pennsylvania player pool with that of New Jersey. And for that to happen, Pennsylvania will need to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA).

Currently, only three states have joined the agreement including New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. If and when Pennsylvania joins the agreement is anyone’s guess but uncertainties surrounding the Wire Act have delayed the online poker shared liquidity project from growing.

Should everything go well, Pennsylvania is eventually expected to join the MSIGA agreement. Once that happens, PokerStars will be able to join its New Jersey player pool with Pennsylvania and hopefully set new tournament records.